While each outlet has the flexibility to place orders that fit their needs, the company centralized the procurement process. The data are stored at a central warehouse which is run by a third-party logistic provider.

"Transparency is particularly critical in the procurement process," said Tse. "Every month we made a variety of purchases, from meat and poultry to drinks and condiments. Apart from having a system that keeps track of transactions from multiple suppliers, the system also monitors our inventory."

The system is also required to support certain strategic alignments with the suppliers. These alignments include special orders, contract arrangements or delivery arrangements.

Currently these processes are handled by silos of applications. As Fairwood is completing stage three of its IT roadmap with a new ERP, which is expected to go live later this year, a much closer integration between these business services is expected.

"We'll then be able to better support the procurement units in making these special arrangements," said Tse. "But the ultimate goal is to establish a system that provides sophisticated sales forecasts on our procurement requirements and inventory status, to ensure our products are available."